Bad Ass Asians

Four Asian American Congressional Reps will Boycott Trump’s Inauguration

Congressmen Ted Lieu and Mark Takano will not attend the inauguration of the 45th President of the U.S.

By Ed Diokno & Louis Chan

On the eve of the Martin Luther King holiday, four Asian American congressmen are joining at least 14 other members of Congress who according to Fusion will not be attending Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremonies next week.Trump’s attack against civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis appears to have been the last straw for the chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena) along with Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles), Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside) and first year Rep Pramila Jayapal (D- Seattle).

“Trump – who lost the popular vote – made a series of racist, sexist and bigoted statements,” said Lieu. “In addition, he attacked Gold Star parents, veterans such as John McCain and now civil rights icon John Lewis.”

President Barack Obama hugs Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., after his introduction during the event to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., March 7, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

“That’s not right. That’s not fair. That’s not the democratic process,” Lewis said about the alleged Russian hacking, which U.S. intelligence officials believe was to help Trump get elected and to discredit Hillary Clinton.

Lewis said he could not attend the president-elect’s inauguration in good conscience. “You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong,” Lewis said.

Trump dismissed Lewis, a Freedom Rider who was beaten during a 1965 march in Selma and was arrested and jailed repeatedly in opposition to segregation, as “all talk, talk, talk – no action or results.”

This is the first time Lewis has not attended the inauguration since he entered Congress 30 years ago.“I can only hope that Trump will govern differently than he has campaigned. For me, the personal decision not to attend Inauguration is quite simple: Do I stand with Donald Trump, or do I stand with John Lewis? I am standing with John Lewis.”

Lieu also wrote in his statement that Trump will be in violation of the Constitution on the day he takes office because of his “massive conflicts of interests he has with his global business holdings.”

4 Comments

RE: Four Asian American Congressmen will Boycott Trump Inauguration: Wish the title said Four Asian American members of Congress since two happen to be women and one happens to be the chair of the Caucus.

RE: Mary Nicely on Four Asian American Congressmen will boycott Trump Inauguration: Good point. The original article was only about Takano and Lieu and the headline read Two Asian American Congressman… In the hurry to update it, we merely changed the number. We should have been more careful. We have updated the headline. Thank you

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